April 23, 2016

Highway 18 (mile 266.1) to bushcamp (mile 276.6)

Miles: 10.5

We woke up snuggled in cotton sheets. It was refreshing to doze knowing that we had nowhere to be and nothing that had to be done. Well, not immediately.

We organized our backpacks and figured out the mileage for our next section. If we want to get to Islip Saddle by Friday evening we need to average 19.6 miles a day. That sounds a little intimidating so we came up with a backup plan of 15.6 miles a day and an exit point of Wrightwood. We will let our bodies (especially our feet) decide.

Andy’s family picked us up around 10 and we drove around Big Bear Lake looking for a place to picnic. Thanks again to Ed and Jeanie for hosting us!

We settled at the interpretive trail parking lot and sat down to feast. Laurie showed more self control than last week and didn’t eat herself sick. The food was yummy and we packed up leftovers to carry with us for dinner, and breakfast the next morning.

Then we sorted through our resupply boxes and planned our next 6 days worth of food.

With 2 liters of water each and 6 days of food our packs were heavy!

We got dropped off at highway 18 where one day prior Ed picked us up. Twenty four hours off trail and we were ready to start walking again!

Our plan was to hike 2.5 miles to a trail camp but we got there in just over an hour and felt good. Fueled by home cooked food and still full bellies we powered on another 8 miles.

We climbed up 1000 ft, dropped down to a creek and climbed some more. Most of the trail was bordered by pine trees. We walked through a boulder field, over soft dirt and rocky trail. It felt good to be moving again.

We reached camp around 7:15, set up our tent and promptly climbed in. We ate leftovers curled up in our sleeping bags.

It’s going to be a cold night – we’re camped at 7,717 feet – so Andy put up the fly for additional warmth.

Lastly, we’d like to thank you to everyone who has contributed to our town fund. We really appreciate your generosity and support. We continue to feel so lucky to have people cheering us on from across the country.

Tonight we are grateful for our community and full bellies.